Trust issues
by Frontline
Summary: When First Aid treats an Autobot Bomb Disposal Expert who has lost both of his arms, he suspects that he may be hiding a darker secret.


**Transformers, all concepts and characters are the property of Hasbro and their respective creators. No copyright infringement is intended, or profit made, from this work of fiction.**

'Give it to me, First Aid. ' Ambulon said, as he stopped next to the Triage Slab where a dark blue bot was lying. His face was covered by a dented visor, his chest plate was blackened and charred and he was missing both his arms from below the elbow.'

'Blastshield, EOD specialist.' First Aid said. 'Double amputation of both arms following explosion of an IED. He's been hooked up to a Nucleon feed, but he's Spark readings are erratic.' He said and Ambulon frowned.

'Alright. He might be going into shock. Prep him for surgery while I'll alert Pharma...'

'I can assist you...

'You're a MedTech now, First Aid, and you've got your orders. Get to it...'

'...yes, sir.' First Aid said, watching him go before turning to Blastshield, giving him what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

'Okay, we're going to send you to surgery, now...'

'...please...' He said, his voice a barely audible grate as he reached out for First Aid and he took his hand, gripping it tightly.

'It's alright. Everything's going to be fine...'

First Aid finished his shift report and sat back from where he had just finished typing up his shift report and glanced up at the timepiece. It had been nearly an hour since Blastshield had gone into surgery and he expected that Pharma should be finished soon.

 _You've got some time before you need to be on the ward._

Turning back to his terminal, he punched in his access code and called up Blastshield's personnel record, quickly skimming over it.

 _Blastshield_

 _Explosives Ordance Division_

 _Current Status: Active_

 _Alternate Mode: Armoured Personnel Carrier_

 _Psychological Analysis:_

 _Calm, composed and a perfectionist, he is not one to make mistakes. Highly focused and dedicated, he always puts the mission first, even above his own needs. Well-suited to frontline combat operations or Special Forces._

 _Rung, Autobot Psych-Analyst_

He closed down the screen, sitting back with his arms folded.

This isn't right... He thought, just as Ambulon's voice came over the intercom.

'First Aid, report to recovery...'

 _Alright...time to get some answers..._

'Hey.' First Aid said, pulling up a chair next to the recharge slab where Blastshield was lying, his gaze firmly fixed on the ceiling. 'My name's First Aid. How're you doing?'

'I'm still alive...' He said, flexing his new arms with a grimace, servos moving inside the metal shells. 'How long until I can get back to the front?'

'It'll be a while.' First Aid said. 'Once your new servos have seated, we can see about getting some proper prosthetics for you. But...'

'But they'll never be as good.' Blastshield said. 'Unless Adaptus himself turns up with a new set off arms for me, right?'

'...yeah.' First Aid said. 'I'm sorry...'

'You should have just let me die...' He said, turning back to stare at the ceiling. First Aid hesitated for a second, before standing up.

'...okay. I'll be back to check on you, later.'

'...sure.'

Ambulon looked up from his terminal when he heard the knock at the door.

'What do you need, First Aid?' Ambulon asked, looking up from his terminal when he heard the knock to see him standing in the doorway.

'I wanted to talk to you about Blastshield...'

'He's out of surgery. It'll take a while before we can look at getting prosthetics for him...'

I know...' He said, hesitating before pressing on. 'Listen, I don't think what happened was an accident. I think he tried to commit suicide...'

Ambulon stopped typing and looked up at him with a tight-lipped expression.

'First Aid, he's an EOD expert. They get subjected to even more intense psychological screening than we do. He's a solid as they come...'

'I know. I read his file. According to Rung, he's doesn't make mistakes. There's no way that he would screw up...

'I disagree.' Ambulon said, folding his arms. 'In any case, we don't know that he did make a mistake. The device was booby-trapped or detonated remotely. Either way, it doesn't mean that he's suicidal.'

'Yeah, but...'

'That'll be all, First Aid. Pharma's managing the case. And you have duties on the ward.'

'But...'

'Now, First Aid.'

First Aid sat back from the terminal where he had been writing up his notes from the last hour and looked around the Ward. There were only a couple of patients lying on recharge slabs, Pharma was back in surgery and Ambulon was in his office. Glancing around, he hesitated for a second, his fingers flying over the keys as he called up Blastshield's records.

 _Let's see...operational history...internal schematics...brain scans and...mission camera footage. Here we go..._

He opened up the directory and scrolled down the list until he found the file that he was looking for, a grainy video image of a dingy and poorly lit room appearing on the screen. And sitting on the floor of the room was a block device, a crude jumble of components and wires with a blinking light in the centre. The image shook as Blastshield moved towards the bomb and knelt down, working methodically, cutting wires and removing components with a calm focus that First Aid could only envy.

 _He's got gears, I'll give him that..._

He watched as Blastshield carefully removed what looked like a detonator and then the image dissolved into static.

 _What the hell...?_

Nearly a minute passed and then the image returned, showing that now blackened ceiling of the room. As he watched, the face of another Autobot with a domed head came into view.

 _'Blastshield? You still with us? C'mon, talk to me...'_

'What are you doing?'

First Aid looked up to see Ambulon standing over him with his arms folded and he belated realised that he'd heard the door to the ward open. However, he wasn't going to back down.

'I was checking on Blastshield's mission recorder footage. I think it's been tampered with.'

'I told you...'

'The image cuts out just before the bomb goes off. Doesn't that seem suspicious...'

'He was right on top of the bomb when it went off, First Aid. His optics could have been knocked offline.'

'But...'

'That's enough, First Aid. I don't want to have to tell you again. Are we clear?'

'...yes.'

'Good.' Ambulon said, holding his gaze for a second before walking out.

First Aid keyed in his access code and stepped through the door to the recovery room, stopping in his tracks when he saw the empty recharge slab.

 _What the hell...?_

'Blastshield?' He said, pulling out his pistol as he headed back into the corridor and looking around. In the flickering lights, he could see that one of the lift doors had been forced open and he advanced towards it. Reaching the doors, he risked a glance down, but his optics couldn't pierce the gloom. Holstering his pistol, he got a grip on the lift cables with both hands.

 _I'm going to regret this..._

First Aid slid down the cables to land at the bottom of the lift shaft, finding that the door's had been forced open. Shouldering his way through the doors into the darkened corridor. In the dark, he could just make out the faded letters on the wall.

 _Level C-7. What's he doing down here?'_

Pulling out his pistol again, he made his way down the corridor, turning up his audio receptors to pick up the slightest noise. Ahead, he could see that another door had been forced open and that a figure was slumped against the wall next to it.

Advancing carefully, he knelt down next to him, recognising him as Railgun, one of Delphi's security detail. However, what drew his attention was the shard of metal that was driven through his chest plate.

'Railgun? Can you hear me?'

'...First Aid...?'

'Don't try to move. What happened here?'

'I was attacked. Some 'bot I didn't recognise. He stabbed me and...broke into the armoury.'

First Aid looked up towards the door, levelling his pistol and Railgun shook his head.

'He's long gone. Took...some explosives and left. He went...that way...'

He struggled to point down the corridor and First Aid nodded.

'Alright.' He said. 'I've got to go after him, but I'll get help. Hold on, okay?'

Railgun nodded and First Aid activated his comlink.

'Ambulon, it's me. Come in...'

 _'First Aid? Where the hell are you?'_

'Level C-7. Listen, Blastshield's gone AWOL and I've got a soldier down...'

 _'Alright. Stay there. Back-up's on the way.'_

'I can't do that. He's raided the armoury and taken some explosives. I'm going after him...'

 _'Negative, First Aid. You are to wait for back-up. Repeat...'_

The rest of his sentence was lost as he shut down the comlink.

 _Sorry, Ambulon. I'm not going to abandon him..._

He followed the corridor until he came to another forced door, pressing his back against it and peering around. Inside, he could see Blastshield kneeling on the floor with his back towards him. Getting a grip on his pistol, he stepped through, levelling the weapon at him.

'Blastshield? It's First Aid. I'm here to help you. Okay?'

Blastshield didn't answer, so he circled round, his eyes widening at what he saw. A blocky device was attached to his chest, with a blinking red light in the centre.

 _Oh, slag..._

'You shouldn't have come here, First Aid.' He said. 'Get out of here. There's no need for you to die...'

'And what about you?' First Aid asked, lowering his pistol.

'It's too late for me, First Aid. I'm tired of this...this war. We finally get peace with the Decepticons, but the war doesn't end. We just find someone else to fight. I just want this to end...'

'The explosion wasn't an accident, was it?' First Aid asked and Blastshield shook his head.

'No...Get out of here, First Aid. Please...'

'You don't have to do this. I know how you feel. We've been fighting so long, I wonder if we know how to do anything else. Please, let me help you...'

'It's too late for me, First Aid.' He said, slumping sideways to the floor, his hands dropping limply to his sides.

'Blastshield?' First Aid said, casting aside his pistol as he raced over to him, dropping to his knees. 'What's wrong? Come on, talk to me...'

'I've...removed my secondary power cell...' He said, tapping the bomb on his chest and First Aid's eyes widened.

Damn... He thought, re-activating his comlink.

'Ambulon, do you read...?'

 _'First Aid, you'd better have a damn explanation...'_

'Shut up and listen. Blastshield's bolted a bomb to his chest. He wants to die. I'm not an expert on explosives, but it looks powerful enough to compromise his Spark. If that happens...'

 _'...the blast will destroy the base, I know. First Aid, you need to get out of there. I'll send down a security team to disable the device...'_

'There's no time. He's removed his secondary power cell and he's already suffering from system failure. If he doesn't get a replacement soon, his brain unit will start to shut down. I'm going to try and remove the device. I recommend that you seal the blast doors and evacuate the lower levels. Hopefully, the hospital is shielded enough to resist the blast.'

 _'...alright, First Aid. Good luck...'_

 _Yeah..._ First Aid thought, breaking the comlink and turning his attention to the bomb. Even though he was no expert, he could recognise the two charges and the detonator, the red light blinking slowly.

 _Okay...all I need to do is remove the detonators and everything should be fine..._

His hands shook as he reached towards the bomb, getting a grip on the first charge.

 _Okay...here we go..._

As gently as he could, he pulled at the charge, it slide out with a faint click as one of the red lights on the front of the bomb disappeared.

 _Less than a minute. Come on, one done, one to go..._

Gently placing the charge on the deck, he reached for the other one and pulled it out, the red lights on the bomb fading and he sat back with the charge clutched in his hand.

 _Thank Primus..._

He stayed still for a second before activating his comlink again.

'Ambulon, this is First Aid. The bomb's disabled...'

 _'Acknowledged. We're sending a team to you, now. Stay put...'_

First Aid looked up as the door opened and Ambulon entered, taking the seat behind his desk without saying a word.

'How is he?' First Aid asked and Ambulon hesitated.

'He's...in a coma. They're prepping a CR chamber for him now, but it doesn't look hopeful.'

'Dammit.' He said, his fists clenching by his sides. 'Can I see him?'

'...yes. But, we need to talk, first...'

'Come on...' He said, standing up.

'Sit down, First Aid!' Ambulon snapped. 'Dammit, I don't want to do this, but you've left me no choice. I'm putting you on report. You deliberately disobeyed my orders when I told you to stay away from Blastshield...'

'I also saved him and everyone else on this base!'

'That's besides the point. I need you, First Aid. You're a good medic, but you're under my command. As medics, we sometimes need to make hard choices. And I need to know that I can trust you. Do I make myself clear?'

'...yes.'

'Good. You're dismissed.'

'Yes, sir...'

 **Thank you for reading. Any reviews, comments or constructive criticism would be very welcome.**


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